Conway’s Velda Lueders new president of ARA
October 2-8, 2017
By Jay Edwards
The grand finale of this year’s Arkansas Realtors Association Convention was a reception honoring the 2016 president, Maurice Taylor, followed by the inauguration of his successor, Velda Lueders.
During her acceptance speech, Lueders began by thanking everyone for taking part at such a special occasion in her life.
“I am honored to serve the membership of the Arkansas Realtors Association,” she said. After recognizing some close friends and family members, including her husband Barry, her daughters Elisabeth and Catherine and her granddaughter Zoe, Lueders said to the ARA members and guests, “We have a great thing going and it’s because of all of you that we continue to be successful.”
As an example, she mentioned that the ARA board just voted to send a large sum of money to Florida and the Virgin Islands for the hurricane relief effort. “We were honored to do this; and able to do it because we have been good stewards with our money,” Lueders said.
She remembered her beginning in real estate back in the mid-nineties.
“Many years ago when I was working for Conway Public Schools, a very dear friend of mine, Pam McDowell, came to my house and said, ‘I want you to come to work for me.’”
“I told her I didn’t know anything about real estate and she said, ‘I’m going to teach you everything you need to know.’”
“She and Hal Crafton took a big chance and hired me to run their office. That opened the door for so many experiences for me and my family that we never expected.”
One of the first people Lueders remembered meeting was Jonna Shaw.
“Jonna had been to one convention and I hadn’t been to one yet.
So we went together that year. The first thing we noticed were that many of the people were wearing lots of different colored ribbons, which we found out had been earned for different designations. They had worked hard to make themselves better agents.”
“Jonna and I looked at each other that night and said that the next convention we came to we would be working towards a ribbon or already have one.”
“Since that time we have spent a lot of classroom time together, both of us earning designations that I know have made us both better agents.”
“I have never missed an Arkansas Realtors Association convention since going to that first one.”
“Then there was a summer session, I think it was at Lake DeGray, when I met Karen Crowson and Debbie Rawls. They were very nice to me and whenever I would see them after that they would always teach me a little more and encourage me a little more.”
In 2006, Crowson was the ARA president when she called on Lueders to be the public relations chair. This was in January and the first meeting was the next month at Big Cedar Lodge near Branson. Having only served on one ARA committee, Lueders had reservations but agreed to do it. There were the normal bumps and bruises along the way that come with trying something new, but she says everything went well and a lot was accomplished. “You don’t have to be an expert. You just have to get in there and get to work and keep trying.”
A few years later she got a call from Andy Shaus, then executive director of the ARA, inviting her to be a zone director for her district.
“I told him I didn’t know how to do that but he said they would teach me and that I could do it,” she remembers.
So she agreed and did that for many years. “I was thinking this week, if Andy had not made that phone call to me I definitely would not be standing here today. I guess I didn’t mess up too bad because they let me keep going.”
The new president closed by thanking the “great and hardworking staff of the ARA” and then offered some words of wisdom for her fellow agents -
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is a progress. Working together is success.”
“And remember the three C’s in life: Choice, Chance, Change. You must make the choice, to take the chance, if you want anything in life to change.”
“Make the change to say yes when asked to get involved with the ARA.”
ARKANSAS REALTORS® ASSOCIATION FORMER ARKANSAS REALTORS® ASSOCIATION PRESIDENTS
The Arkansas Realtors® Association proudly lists below the persons who have been named Arkansas REALTORS® Association State President since 1926.
2016 - Ronald B. Stinchcomb, Fayetteville
2015 - Jonathan Moore, Rogers
2014 - Bill Ladd*, Russellville
2013 - Bill Olson, Batesville
2012 - Dana Powell, Little Rock
2011 - Andy Meyers, Hot Springs
2010 - Mike Henry, Fayetteville
2009 - Bob Walker, Cabot
2008 - Jim Furr, Jonesboro
2007 - Debbie Rawls, Paragould
2006 - Karen Crowson, Benton
2005 - Sharla Lau, Fort Smith
2004 - Glen Rega, Conway
2003 - Chris Polychron, Hot Springs
2002 - Doyle Yates, Fayetteville
2001 - Doug Smith, Little Rock
2000 - Dorwin Shaddox, Harrison
1999 - Herb Yarbrough*, Little Rock
1998 - Cliff Goodin, Russellville
1997 - Roy D. Rainey, Jr, Little Rock
1996 - Brenda Rochelle, Texarkana
1995 - Michael Ford, West Memphis
1994 - Jim Mcadams, Hot Springs
1993 - Bill Abington, Russellville
1992 - Kay Lawrance, Pine Bluff
1991 - Marj Hohnbaum, Little Rock
1990 - Jim F. Rochelle, Texarkana
1989 - W. Derrell Rogers, Magnolia
1988 - Andrew M. Schaus, Little Rock
1987 - S. David Alphin, El Dorado
1986 - L. Wayne Camp, Mountain Home
1985 - Cheryl K. Reagan, Hot Springs
1984 - William Edwards*, Fort Smith
1983 - J.C. Whisnant*, Little Rock
1982 - Tom Quattlebaum, Maryland
1981 - Larry W. Meyers, Hot Springs
1980 - Nield Sanders*, Bull Shoals
1979 - Donald W. Smith*, Fort Smith
1978 - William A. Payne*, Little Rock
1977 - James R. Sullivan*, Fayetteville
1976 - Bennie C. Beard, Little Rock
1975 - Robert L. Harrison*, Rogers
1974 - Paul Harris*, North Little Rock
1973 - Gerald Price, Fort Smith
1972 - W.L. Burroughs*, Jr., Pine Bluff
1971 - O.J. Snow*, Harrison
1970 - D.L. D’Auteuil*, Searcy
1969 - C.V. Barnes*, Little Rock
1968 - Verdon Bennett*, Fort Smith
1967 - Tom A. Little, Jr*, Blytheville
1966 - Howard Buckner*, Pine Bluff
1965 - Bob Cheatham*, Texarkana
1964 - Delmer Sagely*, Fort Smith
1963 - Clyde Buchanan*, Little Rock
1962 - B.B. McCarley*, West Memphis
1961 - Col. C.C. King*, Eureka Springs
1960 - Frank Triplett*, Pine Bluff
1959 - James F. Taylor, Sr*, Fort Smith
1958 - Vincent W. Foster*, Hope
1957 - James M. East*, Little Rock
1956 - J.J. Pyeatt*, Searcy
1955 - Shaffer Haley*, Pine Bluff
1954 - Wesley Adams*, Little Rock
1953 - Arthur Bradley, El Dorado
1952 - E.L. Fausett*, Little Rock
1951 - R.N. Donoho*, Fort Smith
1950 - R.N. Donoho*, Fort Smith
1949 - H.L. Utley*, Fayetteville
1948 - H.P. Hadfield*, Little Rock
1947 - R.E. Patterson*, Fort Smith
1946 - Jack R. Tucker*, Little Rock
1945 - R.W. McNew*, Pine Bluff
1944 - W.V. Boatright*, Fort Smith
1943 - R.C. Hawley*, Texarkana
1942 - Ray Smith*, Hot Springs
1941 - R.C. Bodenhamer*, El Dorado
1940 - W.A. Reed*, Little Rock
1939 - E.W. Kimber*, Pine Bluff
1938 - Col. John Mayo*, Texarkana
1937 - W.H. Ramseur*, Hot Springs
1936 - R.T. Little*, Fort Smith
1935 - Warren Baldwin*, Little Rock
1934 - Charles M. Taylor*, Little Rock
1933 - Pinchback Taylor*, Pine Bluff
1932 - Sidney Kahn*, Little Rock
1931 - Sam Galloway*, Fort Smith
1930 - Oscar McCaskill*, Little Rock
1929 - Louis Heilbron*, El Dorado
1928 - O. L. Bodenhamer*, El Dorado
1927 - Jim Rutherford*, Little Rock
1926 - L.C. Holman*, Little Rock
*Deceased
PHOTO CAPTION:
Velda Lueders of Conway was inaugurated as the new president of the Arkansas Realtors Association on September 20 in Little Rock. Last year’s president, Maurice Taylor (right), presented the gavel as Barry Lueders looked on. (Photo by Jay Edwards)